Liu Nanfeng had assumed that Su Huamei, not living in a high-rise apartment in the CBD, would reside in a luxury villa complex.
He had known the sisters were wealthy, but now realized they were extraordinarily so. Having lived for so many years, anything they left behind could be considered an antique.
Before their marriage, Liu Nanfeng had visited their so-called "home" once, their aunt's place. Though the location was decent, it was just an ordinary family's residence.
Looking back now, it must have all been a facade.
But upon arrival, Liu Nanfeng understood he had been mistaken.
The car passed through an old bluestone alley and finally stopped in front of an old house.
It was a detached villa, albeit one that had weathered the years and could be considered a heritage building.
"Oh, it really is a heritage site."
"Yes, we can't sell it, and even repairing it is quite troublesome." Su Huamei took her suitcase out of the car, and Liu Nanfeng quickly went to help.
Su Huamei took out a key and opened the two wooden doors. What greeted them was a large screen wall. Passing through the side screen door, they entered the outer courtyard, then crossed the flower gate into the inner courtyard, with covered corridors and side rooms on either side.
There were four flower beds in the courtyard, one of which held a large crabapple tree.
The flower beds appeared to be regularly tended, neat and tidy.
Su Huamei followed Liu Nanfeng's gaze, likely guessing his thoughts, and explained, "Aunt Sun helps us manage it when we're away."
With that, she strode across the courtyard towards the main house opposite. Liu Nanfeng hurried to catch up.
It didn't look large from the outside, but stepping inside, he was surprised by its vastness. It was a proper Siheyuan, a courtyard house.
"With such a large place, and only you and your sister living here, don't you find it lonely?" Liu Nanfeng asked.
"We used to have maids and servants, but now..."
Indeed, in modern society, maids and servants were long gone. While they could hire household staff, they couldn't compare to the trustworthiness of past attendants.
Since the sisters were often away, hiring someone untrustworthy would only lead to more trouble.
The Aunt Sun who helped manage the place now was someone they had known for many years and could trust.
Su Huamei led Liu Nanfeng into one of the rooms in the main house. He surveyed the surroundings. It was antique and elegant, yet sparsely furnished.
A dressing table, a canopy bed, a string stand, a display cabinet, a qin table, a qin chair, and a guqin – these were all the items in the room. The arrangement was simple yet possessed a distinct charm.
"You play the qin?" Liu Nanfeng asked in surprise.
"Yes, shall I play for you?" Su Huamei replied with a smile.
"Alright, play something for me."
As there were no chairs, Liu Nanfeng didn't hesitate and sat down directly on the edge of the bed.
Su Huamei didn't stand on ceremony, sitting down at the qin table. With a light touch of her fingers, a resonant string sound emerged...
Su Huamei played the qin exceptionally well, though her attire seemed a little out of place.
Liu Nanfeng offered his opinion, which Su Huamei readily accepted. Thus, she played the qin in her plain clothes…
Meanwhile, in Jiang City, Su Jinxiu had not gone to the coffee shop she hadn't visited in days, but instead headed to the Yangtze River…
Because playing the qin had taken up considerable time, Liu Nanfeng was unable to return as quickly as Su Jinxiu had suggested.
By the time he drove back to Jiang City, the streetlights were already on.
Passing by the river, Liu Nanfeng remembered the little one, Feng Hongjin. He took out his echo shell and called out several times, but received no reply.
He then found a spot to park the car and walked to the riverbank, intending to fill the echo shell with water.
This was its only drawback: to hear recordings, one had to fill it with water.
As it was evening and the weather had cooled, many parents were strolling by the river with their children.
Some were skateboarding, some cycling, some rollerblading, and others were flying kites…
Liu Nanfeng passed through a group of children, preparing to descend the embankment, and was almost hit by a young boy on a skateboard. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and steadied the child.
However, the incident startled him because he saw a creature resembling a fly hovering above the boy's head, though it had no wings. Its head was large, ugly, and monstrous, with a pair of blood-red eyes. Its body was gaunt and small, with a long proboscis on its head, attaching itself like a suction cup to the boy's forehead.
As if sensing Liu Nanfeng's gaze, the creature, with its strong limbs, leaped to the head of another nearby boy and quickly attached its proboscis to the child's forehead.
Name: Li Cuiping
Race: Human-Demon
Cultivation: Twenty-three years
Identity: Manifestation of jealousy, devours talent and fortune, causing loss of reason.
Past Karma: Not triggered.
It was another Human-Demon. Liu Nanfeng was beginning to understand that Human-Demons were essentially manifestations of human desires.
The Nightmare he encountered previously was, more accurately, also a Human-Demon, but because it consumed dreams, it could only appear in people's dreams, thus transforming into a Nightmare.
Therefore, as long as human desire persisted, Human-Demons would not disappear; they were two sides of the same coin.
However, Human-Demons weren't easily born, otherwise, they would be everywhere.
They likely required desires to become intensely strong, forming obsessions, which then evolved into inner demons, and finally, Human-Demons.
The Human-Demon before him, with twenty-three years of cultivation, could not have originated from these children. Furthermore, its name sounded feminine.
Liu Nanfeng's gaze shifted towards the group of mothers chatting and laughing.
At that moment, the Human-Demon continued to jump from child to child, attaching its mouthparts to their foreheads, seemingly absorbing something.
However, any child it latched onto either stumbled or displayed signs of irritation and impatience.
Because it kept moving, Liu Nanfeng found it difficult to trigger its past karma through touch.
Moreover, its origin body was likely among those mothers.
This made it even less possible for Liu Nanfeng to approach and touch them, lest he be mistaken for a pervert and beaten.
After some thought, he decided to leave it for now. He walked down the embankment to the riverbank, filled the echo shell with water, and Feng Hongjin's chirpy voice immediately began to stream out.
"Human, what are you doing? Eating something yummy?"
"I caught a really big fish! There were so many fish, it definitely… definitely wasn't that animal."
Good heavens, she had forgotten the phrase "protected animal" so quickly.
"Also, I saw Sister Ao today! She was so fierce, like she was going to eat me. Luckily, I swam fast and whooshed away, hee hee hee…"
"Human, where have you been? You haven't spoken to me in days, and I'm a little sad."
"Human, I went to the meeting spot today, but you still didn't come. I'm very sad."
"Human, are you not going to play with me anymore? We're good friends, right?"
"Sister Yu Chan said you must have something important to do, that's why you didn't contact me, is that right?"
"Then, when you don't have anything important to do, can you talk to me? I don't need you to bring me yummy things anymore, is that okay?"
"I'm so sad. I let the big fish go, and now I regret it a bit. I swam around in the water, blowing bubbles. Mom said I should be good, but I am good! I am good, aren't I?"
…
Upon hearing these messages, Liu Nanfeng was stunned.
His feelings towards Feng Hongjin were more akin to a human's affection for a cute young creature.
It was like having a cute child next door; seeing them brought joy, and one couldn't help but greet and play with them. If they weren't around, one wouldn't miss them.
Yet, the little one harbored genuine affection for him. Her messages, shifting from joy to melancholy, and finally to deep sadness, were all filled with her reliance on him.
Thinking of the little one's pitiable expression, Liu Nanfeng felt a pang of bitterness.
He emptied the echo shell of water, intending to leave a message for Feng Hongjin and arrange to meet her tomorrow.
But at that moment, he heard Feng Hongjin's voice.
"Big Brother, are you still busy with important things? I miss you a little again. I'm not happy all day. I didn't go catch big fish. I'll give you the pretty stones I hid. Can I…?"
"Okay," Liu Nanfeng quickly responded.
"Big Brother?"
Feng Hongjin's surprised voice rang out from the echo shell.
"It's me. I'm sorry I couldn't reply these past few days."
"It's okay, we're good friends, right?"
Feng Hongjin saying this indicated she was still worried that Liu Nanfeng might not like her or want to be her friend.
"Yes, we are good friends…"
"Then can you come play with me? Shall I come find you now?"
Before Liu Nanfeng could finish speaking, Feng Hongjin's voice interjected impatiently.
"It's too late today. Tomorrow – let's meet tomorrow morning, okay? Tell your mom, I'll take you to the shore to play, eat good food, or you can come with your Sister Yu Chan…"
"Okay, okay…"
Before Liu Nanfeng could finish, the little one eagerly agreed, not worried about being tricked or any danger; she was simply too innocent.
"Don't agree too quickly. You need to ask your mother about this," Liu Nanfeng said.
How could such an innocent child's mother allow her to be taken away by a stranger? Putting himself in that position, Liu Nanfeng himself would never hand over his beloved daughter to a stranger.
Therefore, in Liu Nanfeng's opinion, Zhu Yuchan would likely accompany her.
"Mom… Mom…"
Well, the little one had already rushed off to ask her mother.
"Hey… Hey… Wait a moment…" Liu Nanfeng was quite helpless.
Fortunately, the little one's voice soon rang out again.
She said excitedly, "Mom agreed!"
"That's good. Then we'll meet tomorrow morning."
"Okay," the little one happily agreed.
After a few more exchanges, they hung up the "phone."
Liu Nanfeng put away the echo shell and looked towards the embankment. The children were still playing there. After a moment of thought, he walked back up.
The children were still skateboarding, but as he looked around, he realized the Human-Demon had disappeared.
"Did it go home?" Liu Nanfeng mused.
This was not impossible. Human-Demons followed their hosts. If the host left, the Human-Demon would naturally follow.
Liu Nanfeng was somewhat resigned, deciding to drive home first and try his luck again tomorrow evening to see if he could encounter it.
Driving home, he found Su Jinxiu had already prepared dinner.
Seeing Liu Nanfeng return, she immediately came to greet him, even fetching his slippers.
"This…"
Liu Nanfeng felt rather uncomfortable with her doing this.
Although Su Jinxiu had always been very thoughtful towards him, she hadn't gone so far as to personally fetch his slippers upon his return. She wasn't like women from those "countries that live well."
"Uh… darling, I'm sorry I'm a bit late."
"It's alright, it's only seven o'clock, and there's still plenty of time. Let's have dinner."
Su Jinxiu's tone remained gentle, her face wore a smile, showing no signs of anger.
However, when she said the word "dinner," she emphasized it, subtly reminding Liu Nanfeng that it was already evening.
"Huamei gave me a tour of where you live, and time just slipped away," Liu Nanfeng explained (or rather, made excuses).
"Just a tour of the house? You certainly took your time looking around, spending so long."
Su Jinxiu's fingertips traced his cheek, then moved downwards…
"Darling, let's eat first, let's eat first…" Liu Nanfeng said nervously.
"Dishonest."
Su Jinxiu gave him a sidelong glance and turned towards the dining table.
"Oh, right, I've already contacted Feng Hongjin and arranged to meet her tomorrow morning. You make something delicious for lunch tomorrow. That little one is also a foodie," Liu Nanfeng quickly changed the subject.
"Do you need me to make garlic spareribs? Though I doubt mine would be as tasty as Huamei's," Su Jinxiu asked with a smile.
"No… no need." Liu Nanfeng said nervously. It seemed her anger hadn't subsided.
"Let's eat. Get some rest early after dinner," Su Jinxiu said.
Liu Nanfeng: …
The next day, he woke up to find it was already bright daylight.
Su Jinxiu was already up and about.
Liu Nanfeng rolled over and sat up, feeling a slight ache in his lower back from the night's sleep.
He dressed and went out of the room. Su Jinxiu had already returned from grocery shopping and was busy in the kitchen. Breakfast was laid out for him on the table.
Hearing Liu Nanfeng's movements, Su Jinxiu, wearing an apron, emerged from the kitchen.
"You're up. Eat your breakfast on the table first. I'm making soup, it'll be ready soon. Have a bowl after you're done."
Su Jinxiu seemed to be in excellent spirits today.
"Okay."
Liu Nanfeng turned to wash up. Watching his retreating back, Su Jinxiu gave a smug little smile.
"Are you going to the coffee shop later?" Liu Nanfeng asked during breakfast.
"Yes, why?"
"No reason. I'll take Feng Hongjin directly to the coffee shop later. Ask Hongxiu Min to make some small cakes; the little one likes them."
"Sure, no problem. I also bought some chicken wings this morning; I'll make cola chicken wings for you two at noon."
"She'll definitely be happy then. She likes cola and chicken."
"These things aren't very healthy. A few times is fine, but every day is not good."
"Oh, do demons also pay attention to such things?"
"Since demons have transformed into humans, they naturally have to abide by human rules."
"Is that so?"
"Of course."
After eating a few steamed buns and a large bowl of red date and pork rib soup with goji berries for breakfast, they left together.
Su Jinxiu went directly to the coffee shop.
Liu Nanfeng walked towards the riverbank.
The riverbank in the morning was filled with people exercising. Most were elderly, but there were also young people jogging.
Perhaps due to its proximity to the river, even in the peak of summer, there was a hint of coolness in the morning air.
Liu Nanfeng stretched his body, deciding to do a few laps.
However, before he could run a few steps, a small boy darted out from the side. Liu Nanfeng braked sharply but still collided with the child.
"Are you alright?" Liu Nanfeng quickly helped him up and asked.
The boy was somewhat thin and didn't look very strong. He was wearing a blue jacket and holding a fried breadstick, which was why Liu Nanfeng got oil stains on his clothes.
Just then, a woman rushed over, asking nervously, "Xiaoyong, are you alright? Did you get hurt?"
"No," the little boy replied softly.
He also glanced fearfully at Liu Nanfeng and hid behind the woman.
The woman then seemed to notice Liu Nanfeng and quickly apologized.
"I'm so sorry. My son is so reckless. I'm truly sorry…"
The woman's expression was gentle, the type one would associate with a kind housewife. She kept apologizing, as if all the fault lay with her son.
"It's alright, I also…"
Before Liu Nanfeng could finish his sentence, he saw the Human-Demon from last night crawl out from behind her, hovering above her head. Its pair of blood-red eyes stared intently at him, sending a chill down his spine.